Black Friday
by Cheetah Goddess
Summary: It may be the best shopping day of the year, but it was Sapphire's worst nightmare... Rusa, Franticshipping, RubyxSapphire


**DISCLAIMER: Do I own Pokemon Special? DO I OWN POKEMON SPECIAL? Is the sky purple?**

**...It isn't? Damn.**

* * *

The first thing she noticed was his warm breath on her neck. Then came the yelling.

"Sapphire!"

"HUNHZZAT?!" Sapphire lashed out as she jerked out of sleep, rolling onto her toes and ready to attack.

"Ouch! You didn't have to hit me."

Sapphire slowly blinked, sliding onto her knees as the burst of adrenaline left her. "…Ruby?" She tried to scowl, but was too tired to manage. Instead she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders. "…what time's it? And what'n the heck are ya doing in my room?"

The boy readjusted his glasses, his cheek still red from her slap. "It's 4:00."

Sapphire peered into the gloom outside her window, her jaw dropping. "In the morning?!"

Ruby ignored her question, yanking the blanket away. "Come on. Get dressed."

She yanked the blanket back, tossing it over her head as she plopped back down on her pillow. "It's way too early for this! I'm going back to sleep."

"Sapphire…you know the deal." He tugged the blanket off her bed, tossing it where she couldn't reach it. "I beat you fair and square."

"Uuunh…" She grimaced, remembering the Pokémon battle they had the other day. "…I told Papa not to let you in this morning…"

"He didn't."

She flung up into a sitting position, eyes wide. "Ya broke into my HOUSE?"

Ruby had his back to her, rummaging through her drawers. "Of course not!" He pulled out a shirt, inspecting it for wrinkles. "I had a key."

"WHAT?!" Sapphire's cry was muffled as Ruby threw the shirt on top of her head.

He ignored her again, tossing the rest of her clothes on the end of her bed. "Come on, or we're going to be late."

Sapphire yawned, her fatigue making her unwilling to keep up the argument. "Why do we have to leave this early? Can't we just teleport or something?"

He snorted. "I wouldn't make my precious Ruru teleport two people THAT far. She's strong, but not that strong."

"Then why can't we just go later in the day? Ya know…when the sun's up?"

Ruby stood up with a sigh, dusting off his knees. "Then we would miss all the good sales! Now come on and put on your clothes or I'll do it FOR you."

Seconds later, Ruby found himself on the floor outside her bedroom door, nursing another sore cheek.

* * *

Sapphire didn't understand it. What was the allure of flying all the way to some stupid mall before the sun even rose…just to stand outside in a forever-long line in the freezing cold to wait for it to open? She shivered, rubbing her shoulders for warmth.

Ruby walked back toward Sapphire, handing her a cup of hot cocoa. "Here you go! They were giving it away for free!" He was looking extremely chipper for it being so early in the morning, giving Sapphire the urge to punch the smile right off his face.

However, instead of punching him she took the cocoa gratefully, letting the steam defrost her face. "…So, tell me again why we're out this early to shop?"

Ruby shook his head, smiling down at her like he was talking to a slow child. "It's Black Friday!" He stretched his arms wide. "It's the only biggest and best shopping day of the year before the holidays! We're here to take advantage of all the good deals!"

Sapphire snorted, taking a careful sip of her hot cocoa. "…_Right_. I almost forgot."

Ruby pouted, lowering his arms. "Do you really hate spending time with me that much?"

A blush crept over her cheeks; she opened her mouth to respond, but a piercing sound cut her off mid-breath.

"ATTENTION, SHOPPERS! THE MALL IS NOW OPENING!"

It seemed the whole line moved as one; Sapphire was immediately shoved forward with the crowd, pinched and prodded in places she never even realized she would be uncomfortable with. Everyone pushed past her in their mad dash toward the doors. "U-uwah!" She began to fall backwards, but someone caught her by the waist, guiding her forward through the crowd.

"You can't just stand there or you'll get trampled!" Ruby held her close to him, gliding through the crowd with ease.

When they finally made it through the mob and into the building, Ruby led Sapphire to a wall far away from the people pouring in, heaving a hefty sigh. "You have to watch for people here, Sapphire. They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want."

Sapphire panted, already worn out from their excursion. "I…can see…that." She looked down, noticing his arm was still around her waist. "Uwah!" She yanked away from his grip, looking away in her embarrassment. "S-so…where do you want to go?" She cursed the wavering pitch in her voice, willing herself to act calm.

Ruby, on the other hand, was as calm as he could be. He smirked, grabbing her hand. "Everywhere." He dragged her back into the storm, a shopping frenzy taking over him.

* * *

For someone who so zealously refused to battle, Ruby was a pretty brutal shopper.

Had it been two…no, at least five minutes had passed since the fray had begun. Sapphire sat on a counter near the spectacle, sighing. She couldn't even recall a time where had looked so ferocious in combat. Usually he would stop in the middle of them and take a picture or something else prissy, but she could've sworn he had heard him _growl_.

"I'm telling you I had my hands on this dress first!"

"And I'm telling YOU that I saw it first!"

"Miss, I already had this dress before you walked into this store!"

"Don't you talk back to your elders, young man!"

Ruby was in an intense tug of war with a frail looking older woman, who apparently had more spunk than her appearance let on. Why he wanted the stupid frilly dress so much, Sapphire couldn't fathom, and she was too tired to be curious. She let out a loud yawn, blinking her eyes hard. All she wanted to know at the moment is how everyone could be so goddamn perky so early in the morning.

Ruby grit his teeth, pulling the dress closer to. "I…had it first!"

The woman tugged, yanking Ruby forward. "I need this dress for my granddaughter!"

Ruby refused to back down, the dress slowly inching back toward him. "Well…your granddaughter…will have to settle…for something else because…this dress is…MINE!" He gave one final tug, ripping the dress from the woman's grip and hugging it close to his chest, protecting it from her attempts at reclaiming it. Frustrated, the old woman resorted to beating Ruby with her purse, which looked quite painful. Sapphire wouldn't be surprised if there was a brick or two in cumbersome thing.

She resolved never to make her grandmother angry ever again. Old ladies were _vicious._

The old woman finally grew tired, ending her assault on the boy and stomping away in a huff. Ruby, unfazed by the attack, straightened up and inspected the dress closely, peering over the rims of his glasses. "…A little wrinkled, but no worse for wear…not even a single tear…Wonderful!"

Sapphire hopped of the counter, walking over to Ruby. "Well, I hope all that trouble was worth it…"

"Oh, it was, I assure you…" Ruby turned to her, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Something clicked in the back of Sapphire mind; she began to back away from Ruby, her eyes wide. "R–Ruby…why're you looking at me like that? W–Who'zat that dress for?"

A wide smirk grew on his face as he cornered his prey. Sapphire had a bad feeling that all her questions would be answered as he pounced.

She had lost count of all the dresses she had tried on while she had been trapped in that small dressing room, Ruby burying her under hordes of frills as he tossed more over the door. Of course he made her come out and pose in every single one of the horrid dresses, spinning her around in cries of "Beautiful!" and "Wonderful!" Every comment made her turn a deeper shade of scarlet, but she couldn't tell if he was complimenting her or the stupid dresses. He seemed more enamored with the stupid things than her, fluffing them here or tightening up a loose strap there.

"Really, Ruby…how many of these stupid things do I gotta try on?" Her patience was waning; what was the point of him fighting that old lady for a dress he didn't even like?

He shoved another dress in her hands, a smirk still gracing his lips. "This is the last one, I promise."

She looked at the dress curiously. "Ruby…isn't this the first dress I put on?"

He shoved her into the dressing room. "Just try it on!"

She did as she was told, albeit grudgingly. The thing was so _frilly_! And it had so many ribbons that Sapphire didn't think she'd have any troubles escaping from a castle window if she was a damsel in distress. The only thing she liked about it was the color: a brilliant sapphire blue that rivaled her eyes. She trudged out of the dressing room, an embarrassed pout on her face. Ruby clapped; Sapphire would've sworn there were sparkles in his eyes.

"Wonderful! Simply gorgeous!" He fixed the many bows that Sapphire had failed to tie properly, humming to himself. He took a step back, admiring his handwork. "Hmm…almost perfect."

"Almost?" Sapphire didn't have time to question him further; he pushed her down in one of the chairs, ripping off her shoes.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Sapphire could feel her face grow hot as Ruby slid pair of black ballerina shoes onto her feet, wrapping the silky laces up to her knees. Electricity shot up her leg with every gentle caress of his fingers on her leg, making her body tingle all over. He finished the laces off with a bow and stepped away, Sapphire letting out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

"Now it's perfect." He pulled her up from the chair and gave her a twirl, dress dancing around her knees.

She desperately tried to jumpstart her brain, but it seemed that she had shorted a circuit, the warmth of his touch still lingering on her legs. She couldn't find her voice until they were in the checkout line, Ruby handing the woman at the counter his money.

"HEY! If you were just gonna buy this dress in the first place, why'd I have to try on all the others?"

Once again he simply smirked at her, offering no explanation. Sapphire began to think the ribbons would be more suitable for strangling than escaping.

* * *

Ruby dragged her all over the mall in the embarrassing dress (he made her wear it out of the store); she wanted to rip the stupid thing off and crawl into a hole far away from all the stares. But, she couldn't bring herself to as do as much as snag the dress on anything, much less rip the thing. If she was being honest with herself, somewhere deep inside she liked the way the dress looked on her and the way it danced and swayed with every step she took.

However, Sapphire didn't feel like being honest today. So instead she sulked the whole time, crossing her arms and dragging her feet like an angry two-year-old.

The two of them entered an especially fancy looking store, and Sapphire's nose was immediately assaulted by a myriad of scents, all of them extremely strong and none of them Sapphire found pleasant. She gagged, sneezing up a storm.

"UGH! Disgusting! Where'n the heck are we?" Worry began to eat at her stomach when Ruby didn't answer her, dragging her toward the heart of all the scents. He sat her down in a chair, motioning to one of the employees, an overly tan woman with overly thick make-up.

"She would like a make-over, please."

"WHAT? I would NOT!" Sapphire began to stand, but Ruby hand an iron grip on her shoulders, keeping her rooted to the spot. For a sissy boy, he was pretty strong.

The woman clapped her hands together, squealing. "That's wonderful! Such a cute girl!" Oh great, it was another Ruby. She got to work quickly, tugging at Sapphire's hair with a brush, making her wince and hiss with the pain. The woman whipped out of a pair of scissors, hacking at Sapphire's bangs, to her dismay. Sapphire LIKED them the way they were, thank you! The woman finished up by adding more black ribbons to her hair…what was she, a present?

The woman put away her brush and began working on her face, slathering it with some green goop that would supposedly unclog her _hideous_ pores. While the green stuff slowly caked to her face, the woman started ripping painfully at her eyebrows, all while she and Ruby tittered like little school girls over the most ridiculous of topics. She heard of water torture, but Sapphire thought nothing could be worse than _this_.

After the mask had completely dried, the woman finally wiped it off her face and began applying make-up, an experience Sapphire never wanted to repeat again. She stabbed pencils in her eyes, rubbed her cheeks with powdery stuff, and sprayed her whole body with some horrible floral perfume; she would've enjoyed being sprayed by a Skunktank much more than bathed in that gagging stench all day.

"All finished! Aww, aren't you just a doll? You look just like a princess!" Great, just what Sapphire wanted. Ruby finally let go of her shoulders, Sapphire all too eager to hop out of the seat and get as far away from the two as possible. She stomped off, reaching up to claw the make-up off her face.

"Ah ah ah! Not so fast." Ruby grabbed her wrists, lowering her hands from her face. "We wouldn't want you ruining your make-up, would we?"

"We? _I_ would like nothin` better!" She had meant to struggle, she really did. But Ruby had gotten dangerously close to her face, her lungs forgetting how to work again.

"Please, Sapphire? Just for one day, won't you be my princess?" She opened her mouth to reply, but no sound would come out, her face as red as his eyes. He smirked, enveloping her hand in his. He lead her out of the store and back into the heart of the mall, still holding her hand.

Sapphire expected this unexpected hand-holding was to keep her from rubbing the make-up off her face, but she couldn't bring herself to mind.

* * *

The mall had quieted down quite a bit, she noticed. She hadn't realized how late it had become; Ruby had managed dragged her around the mall all day, then sun already setting. They headed outside the mall in silence, the brisk air cooling the flames on her face. They walked for a while, finding a path that lead into the forest not far from the mall.

Sapphire had to say, the whole thing was kinda romantic…if she was into that sort of thing, of course. The stars burned brightly in the night sky, groups of Volbeat and Illumise floating around them, casting a soft glow over the whole area.

Okay, Sapphire thought it was _really_ romantic. Something that she had only dream of happening between her and Ruby. But she'd kill herself before she would tell Ruby that.

The silence stretched on between them as they walked deeper into the forest. Sapphire finally couldn't handle it anymore. "So…what was up with today? Ya dragged me all around the mall and ya hardly bought anything! I thought you were shopping for presents!"

Ruby smiled nonchalantly, focusing on the road ahead of him. "Oh, I bought plenty of presents today."

It took a moment for Sapphire to register what he had said; her face burst into flames, stopping in her tracks. "Ruby! You didn't have to buy—" He shoved something into her face, ending her tirade.

"Here." Sapphire grabbed the object, a black, slender box. She looked up at him, unsure.

He smiled sweetly, waving a hand. "Go ahead. Open it."

She did as she was told, almost dropping the box in her shock. Inside was the most beautiful necklace Sapphire had seen: a delicate silver chain with a small silver heart inlaid with a gem. She took it out of the box with shaking fingers, gapping at its loveliness. At first she thought the gem was a deep violet color, but upon closer inspection she discovered that there were actually _two_ gems, a ruby and a sapphire.

"R–R–Ruby! How could…it must of cost so much! I can't take it! It's too lovely! I—" Ruby lifted the necklace from her fingers, clasping it around her neck. He took a step back, smiling.

"Perfect. Absolutly perfect."

She touched the stone at the base of her neck, her whole body flushed. "B-B-But I haven't even gotten you anything!"

"On the contrary; you've gotten me the best present of all." He slid up to her, so close that their noses almost touched. "Although, I wonder…Do I have to wait to open you until Chirstmas?"

Everything part of her mind told her to shove him away, but her body didn't feel like listening to her anymore. She'd have to compare the kiss to taking cough syrup; at first she wanted fight it off, to run away in disgust. But then, warmth grew in her stomach, soothing her whole body. She stood like an statue as he broke away, staring at him wide-eyed.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, a small frown on his face. "…well?"

Sapphire pounced, tackling the boy to the ground. She grinned, giving him a kiss. "Best Christmas ever."

* * *

**A/N: Fwee~! Happy New Year, everybody! 8D**

**Two updates in two days? THAT'S CRAZY! But, it's true. I really wanted to get this done before the New Year began, so here it is! I got this idea when I was actually shopping on Black Friday and thought, "Ruby would LOVE this." :3 **

**Sorry for the lame ending and the lame kissing analogy (I've had a could, shuddup), but hey! Rusa fluff. S`all good. :3 **


End file.
